Machine for pressing the bottoms of shoes



July 25, 1950 A. EPPLER, JR

MACHINE EOR PRESSING THE BOTTOMS OF SHOES Filed Dec. 16, 1947 I 2Sheets-Sheet l lnuenzoz A ndrew EpplergJn July 25, 1950 A. EPPLER, JR

MACHINE FOR PRESSING THE BOTTOMS OF SHOES Filed Dec. 16, 1947.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 In venzoz Andrea; Epp/ez; Jr.

Patented July 25, 1950 I UNITED STATES osnci:

MACHINE son riniss'me ,THE BOTTOMS or SHOES Andrew 'Eppler, Jr., Lynn,Mass, assi'gnor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N.-it, a corporation of NewJersey Application December 16, 194?, Serial'No.792,026

iiclaims. (01. 12-427) This invention relates tomachines for applyingjack for difierent sizes of shoes in'order tocom pressure to the bottomsof shoes, and more par pensate for difierentheights of -cones oi thelasts ticularlyto means-for supporting a shoe inthe so that the initialposition of the cone support, Pressure-applying operation, the term shoebe when the shoe is placedon the jack, willnctbe ing generally usedherein with reference .to a shoe excessively higher than that to whichit" is cle mounted on a last. The invention is illustrated pressed'uponjacking'the shoe.

herein as applied to a machine for progressively Theabove and otherfeatures of the invention; leveling the bottom of a shoe althoughitshould including novel combinations of parts and details be understoodthat it is not limitedin its appliof construction, will now be describedby refer cation to machines.of-the 'particular type illusenceto-theaccompanyingd'rawings and pointed trated. outin the claims.

In Letters Patent of the United Statesv No. In the drawings, 2,328,572,granted September'i, 1943, on an appli- Fig. lis aside elevation: partlyin'sectionofa cation of Lloyd G. Miller, there is illustrated a portion:of a machine inwhichthe' invention-is jack for supporting a shoe theleveling opera embodied;

tion employing a toe support, a heel support and. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of) a portionof: the an :intermediate'support forthe cone'o'fthe last. mechanism for operating the -conewsupport; This intermediateor cone support is movable Fig. 3 is a-front'elevation'ofthe conesupport heightwise of the shoe to a position determined looking in thedirection of the arrows bythe shoe when the shoe is positioned'on the ofFig: hand w jack and upon movement ofthe jack to carry the Fig. 4' asection .on the line IveaIv'ofFig; 1". shoe beneath the leveling rollthe cone support Qli lustrated h rein as app i d o is forced more firmlyagainst the last or shoe a leveling machine of the type illustrated-1nLeta-s thereby to provide adequate support for the incars Patent of theUnited States .No'. 1,667,761- termediate portion ofthe last. Whereasthe-heel 5 granted M y 1, 1928, omen-application of E. sup-port in suchmachines is made adjustable with Winkley et al. The machine includes ashoe sup-.- respect to the toesupport to accommodate shoes port or jackcomprising a heel post L0 vand a toe of diiierent sizes, heretofore noprovisionhas been post 42 carrying means for supporting a shoe and madefor similarly adjustingthe eonesupport. last for the leveling operationperformediby: a Accordingly, it has been found necessary to prorollI4'that applies downward pressure on the-shoe vide several jacks incases in which the leveling sole and acts progressively along the shoehot-t machine is to operate on a'wide range of sizes, tom as the jack isswung by powereoperated the relation between the cone support and themeans in directions lengthwiseof the shoe. The:

toe support in thedifierent jacks being diiierent heel post carries aspindle is arranged to enter to accommodate shoes in different sizeranges. the'spindle hole inthe heel .end of the last,ithe

Itis an object of 13116:!)1'656111 invention to elimspindle beingmountedon a block 18 pivoted at inate the necessity of changing jacksinma 2t on anupward extension of the heel postfor chines of this type byproviding means-tor adv swinging movements lengthwisejoi .theshoe Thejusting the position of the cone support during spindle It extendsthrough .an-enlargedopemn the relative adjustment of the heel supportand 40 in a plate.22 carriedby the block 18, the-p1ate the. toe support.To this'end andin accordance being free to tipeabout an axis extendinglater with a feature. of the invention, the. cone supally of the shoe toadjust itself tothe top face.

port is mounted for movement ina-direction of the heel end of the last.The blockdaisqcon lengthwise of a shoe on the jack, theadjustnectedby alink to mechanism-(not. shown).

ment preferably taking place duringthe adjust; whereby the block-andspindle m y be swung in ment of the-heel support. Inorcler to maintain aclockwise direction by depressingianarm125st the properrelationshipbetween theheel and toe press the toe end of the shoe firmly down uponsupports and the .cone support, the cone support' toe-supporting; means-.carr.ied bythe toepos't -as is movable at a difienenti rate from thatofthe disclosed more fully in Letters Patent oithe,

heel support so thatregardless of .whatsize shoe Unitedstates No.1,719,158 granted Jilly 2, 1929, is being. operated upomthe cone supportwill em upon an application of ,EjWink1eyet al. The

gage thecone ofthelastinsubstantially the-same toe-supporting meanscomprises a member 28;

relative position. Inaccordance with another diustableon arcuateeuideways on the his po feature or the invent onprovision isjmade f 1andhas mounted th reon a b ock illiladi'i movin the ne supp th ieh iseof the h el le'upward y and downward y bya wedge-.32 as and. toesupports duringtheadjustmentoithe shown fmore clearly in Letters Patent0151 United States No. 1,962,141 granted June 12, 1934, on anapplication filed in the name of A. Eppler. Supported on the block 30 isa toe rest comprising a rubber pad 34 hollowed out to receive the toeend of a shoe, and a holder 36 by which the pad is carried. 1 The holder36 ismounted on the block 30 .for self-adjustment relatively to the shoeabout an axis extending laterally of the shoe and located substantiallyat the shoe-engaging face of the pad 34.

The jack is fulcrumed upon a shaft 38 in suitable bearings, one of whichis indicated at 40, in

moved downwardly to permit placing a shoe in position on the jack. Whenthe jack starts its rearward movement at the beginning of the the frameof the machine. The heel post I0 of the jack is fulcrumed upon thetoe'post at 42 and is adjustable relatively thereto by a threadedadjusting member 44. Mechanismis provided for. adjusting the travel ofthe jack by the operating mechanism in accordance with adjustment of theheel post relatively to the toe post so that the length of travel willcorrespond with the length of theshoe being operated upon. Mechanism foraccomplishing this is illustratedand described in Letters Patent of theUnited States No. 1,239,664 granted-:Septemberll,191'7 on an applicationfiled in the name of -W. C. Baxter. :Such mechanismwincludes an arm 46extending rearwardly from the heel post I0 and connected by a link 48 toan arm 500i a bell crank lever 52 fulcrumed upon-thetoe post at 54-. Theother arm of the bell crank lever operates mechanism such as describedin the Baxter patent for varying the length of travel of the. jack inaccordance with the size -'of-the shoe being operated upon.

The last is supported between its heel end and fo'r'epart bya conesupport 80. This cone suppore comprises a pad 62 of rubber or the likearranged for engagement with the cone of thelast and is mountedinthe'upperend of a holder 64.

As shown in Fig. 3 this holder comprises a pair which is in turnprovidedwith a downwardly extending screw 80-by which-the bar I8 isconnected to' the upwardly extending arm 82 (Fig. 1) of a bellcrank'lever 84. This bell crank lever is pivoted at 86 to abracket 88extending rearwardly from the toe support. Arearwardly extending armsnof the bell crank lever 84 is connected by a link 92 to' the arm;50 ofthe bell cranklever 52. 'The lowerend of theholder 64 is pivotallyconnected by'a pin 94 to the lower'end of a slide 96v movable verticallyinaslideway formed in a boss 98 on the'block 30. Integral with the slide96 is a'rack l flllwhich meshes with a pinion I02 keyed to'a sh'aftIMjournaledin the boss 98. Secured to. the shaftI04 is one end of a springI06 (Fig. 3) theother end oithefs'pringj being connected to ahandIeffI-IJB whichinaybesecured to the boss 98 in anyoiiefpf aplurality of positions by any suitable means, to. varyjthe action of thespring I06 on'theshaft I04.' This spring acts to turn the shaft 104m aclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, thereby to urge the holder 64with the pad 62 upwardly.

Secured.to the'shaft m i is a ratchet no (Fig.

3) arranged for engagement with which is a pawlfll IZIcarried by an armI I4 rotatably supported at the outer'end of a projection II6 exlevelingoperation the arm I I4 is moved in a clockwise direction and the pawlII2 moves off the shield I I8 into engagement with the teeth of theratchet IIO thereby locking the slide 96 against downward movement andthen upon further movement of the arm H4 in the same direction the slide96 is moved upwardly to force the pad 62 more firmly against the last.For a more complete description of the parts described above, referencemay be had to Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,104,739 grantedJanuary 11, 1938 on an application filed in the name of A. Eppler et a1.

For thus moving the arm II 4 in a clockwise direction at the beginningof the leveling operation mechanism similar to that shown in the Millerpatent referred to above is employed. This mechanism includes a'pair oftoggle links I20, I22 (Figs. 1 and 2), the link I20 being pivoted to thelower end of the arm H14 and the link I22 being fulcrumed on the toepost at 54. The toggle link I22 has a cam'surface I24 which cooperateswith a cam roll I26 carried by the frame of the machine arranged tostraighten the toggle links, upon rearward movement of the jack, againstthe action of a spring I28 (Fig. 2) connected between a forwardlyextending projection I30 of the arm I I 4 and a pin in a boss carried bythe projection H6. The initial rearward movement of the jack causes theslide to be locked against downward movement-by engagement of the pawlIIZ with the ratchet H0, and as the toggle links I20, I22 are furtherstraightened, which occurs preferably at the time when the toe end ofthe shoe moves beneath the leveling roll, the slide 96 is moved upwardlyto force the pad 62 firmly against the cone of the last. The spring I28snaps the toggle slightly past the straightened position in which it isheld against collapse by a screw I32 carried by the link I20, whichscrew cooperates with a shoulder I 34 on the toggle link I22. Thistoggle link has a tail I36 which engages the cam roll I26 at thecompletion of the leveling operation when the jack is moved back intothe position shown in Fig. 1 at which time it is desirable to relievethe force exerted by the pad 62. Engagement of the tail I36 with the camroll I26 causes the toggle to return to the position shown in which itis held by the spring I28 whereupon the shield I I8 moves the pawl I I2out of engagement with the ratchet I I0.

It will be understood that when the heel post is. moved away from thetoe post to adjust the jack for a larger size of shoe the bell cranklever 90 will be moved in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed inFig. 1, thereby to move the cone support also away from the toe supportabout the axis of the pin 94. The movement of the cone support isproportioned to that of the heel support to move at a slower rate suchthat it will occupy the correct position lengthwise of the shoeregardless of the particular size of shoe which is to be operated upon.It is also desirwhen no shoeis located on theijack,"be varied inaccordance with the size of the shoe so that only a slight depressionofthe pad will be-rcquired upon placing a shoeonthejack. It will beunderstood that, the heights of the cones of lasts 'of different sizesvary; generally in accordance withthe-size so ithatfora :larger shoe thepad'filshould occupy aninitial lower position than for a smallrsize'shoeThe shoeshowniin FigJ represents the I smallest size wwhich the machineis capable of accommodating,

- Inorder thus to varylthe heightwise-position of the cone supportsimultaneously with its=ad-- justment lengthwise of :thelastthe"following mechanism is employed. A'cam plate I38= (F.igs. landr3) iscarried by oneof 'thezbars-fifiofthe holder and is urgedupwardlyrof theholder by a spring I40. This'spring lS1CIOI11'l6GtEd at its upper endtoe pin 142 on the holder and a-t its lowerend to thecam plate=-I"3'8-bya pin I44 extending through a slot M6 in thebar- 66. ,Astud I48 passesthrough an open-ended slot in the upper endof the cam plate .1 38 and isthreaded into the bar 66 to guidethe upper end of the plate in itsvertical movement, as will. be described. The cam plate is adjustablylimited in its up ward movement relatively to the holderfid by a screwI50 threaded through a boss I52 extending laterally from the cam plate,the upper'end of the screw engaginga head I=54==on the pin 94. The :pin94 extends through 'ai'slot I56 in the lowerportion of :the cam plate138 and'thus guides the lowerportionof the'cam plate int-its verticalmovement. Thus it will be seen that the cam plate and the holder 64-willmove as a unit about the pin 94-but that the-holder and cam plate maypartake ofrelative vertical movements.

On the lower end of the cam plate is pro vided a rearwardly extendingfoot H38 arranged for cooperation with; a- :roll I60 on the-boss- 98.Thisfoot normally engages the roll lto when there is no'shoeon the jackbut during thedownward movement imparted by the shoe to thepad- =52when'the shoe is placed on the jack;the-foot I53 is moved'downwardlybelow the roll, as shown in: Fig. 1. Assume now that there is no shoe'onthe jack andthat screw 44 is turned tomove the heel support IIlaway fromthe'toe support to accommodate a shoe oflarger. size; The bell cranklever is moved in 'a counterclockwise direction :Caus-ing the holder -64toswing about the pin 94-so that the supporting padt2: moves away fromthe toe pad-'34. The foott-Eafior-the cam plate I38 acting against theroll IBBwill: cause a downward movement, to be-imparted-lto the slide.96 and-the, holder -64 so that .theu ad- 62 is moveddownwardlyuponadjustmentot the jack for a larger size'shoe. This'compensates for theincrease in the cone height of the last n the larger sizes. The extentof "downward movement is such that the pad-62 will occupy a position"somewhat higher-than that'whic-h it occupies when a shoe is placed onthe jack but by reason of the adjustment ofthe heightwise position ofthepad'the extent of. downward movement thereof upon jacking the shoeismirrimized. q

The cam plate 1:38 is madeiseparate =rom the holder 64 to prevent"breakage of parts: in-th'ezevent thatthe operationrorthe'level-mgimachines should be started withoutrany, shoe-being placedon the jack" and tovpermit adjustment rbyythe screw I50 of therelativeapositions ot the holdera and cam plate when; the-'foot- I 58 isin. contact with therroh r I'60,@:a1rd:.dthus adjustment ot: the

initial positiorrof the :pad 62 in: addition to the automatic adjustmentof the pad heretofore described. Such adjustment is desirable-toaccommodate shoes'of different styles. It will be understood: thatbefore a shoe is placed onthe jack the foot'l58 of the cam: plate I38bears against theroll I60. Normally the holder 64 with its cam plate I38and the slide 96 aredepressed when the shoe is placed on the jack sothatwhen the slide'9B is subsequently moved upwardly, as heretoforedescribed, to force the pad 62 firmly against the cone of the last, thefoot I58 will not engage the roll I60. If, however, the slide 96 hasnotbeen depressed due to failure of the operator to place a shoe onthejack, and the jack is subse quently moved rearwardly, the slide '96 withthe holder 64 can move upwardly with respect to-the cam-plate I38 byreason of the slidable' connec--. tion therebetween. Were this notpossible damage would occur to the machine because of the engagement ofthe foot I 58'with the roll I60.

From the above itwill be seen that I have devised a jack embodying heeland toe supportsand an additional support for the cone of the last inwhich the relative positions of the parts arewreadily adjustable to takecare of a wide range of sizes of shoes. -With the arrangement disclosedherein a single jack maybe employed for shoes of all sizes fromchildrens up to mens large sizes.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1.. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support, a'toe support and an additional-support for the shoebetween the heel support and the toesupport, means for relativelyadjusting said heel and toe supports to accommodate shoes of difierentsizes, and means operated by said adjusting means for adjusting saidadditional support lengthwise of a shoe relatively to said heel and. toesupports.

2. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support; a toe support and an additional support for the shoebetween the heel support and the toe support, means for relativelyadjusting said heel and toe supports to accommodate shoes of differentsizes, and means operated by said adjusting means for adjusting saidadditional support relatively to said heel and toe supports.

3. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoefor'thewapplication of pressure to the: bottom thereof, said jackcomprising a heel support, a toe support and an additional support forthe shoe between theheel support and the toe-support, means forrelatively adjusting said heel and toe supports to' accommodate shoes ofdifierent sizes and means operated by said adjusting means for adjustingsaid additional sup-' port both: heightwise and lengthwise of theshoerelatively to said heel and toe supports.

4;. In" a-shoe-pressing.'machine, a jack for supDQrting-ashoe for theapplication of pressure to thebottom thereof, said jaclc comprising aheel support,a toe support and an additional support rfor the shoebetween. the heel support and the toe support, means for relativelyadjusting said heel and toe supports to: accommodate shoes ofdififiI'Gl-ltwSlZES, and means operated :bysaid adjusting means foradjusting the heightwise positiorrof said additional supportr,

5. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support, a toe support and an additional support for the shoebetween the heel support and the toe support, means for relativelyadjusting said heel and toe supports to accommodate shoes of difierentsizes, means operated by said adjusting means for adjusting theheightwise position of said additional support, and other means foradjusting the heightwise position of said additional support tocompensate for shoes of different styles.

6. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support, a toe support, an additional support for the shoe betweenthe heel support and the toe support, means for adjusting said heelsupport toward and away from said toe support, and means for adjustingsaid additional support in the same direction as that in which the heelsupport is adju's'ted but at a lesser rate.

'7. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support, a toe support, an additional support for the shoe betweenthe heel support and the toe support, means for adjusting said heelsupport toward and away from said toe support, means for adjusting saidadditional support in the same direction as that in which the heelsupport is adjusted but at a lesser rate, and means operative inresponse to movement of the additional support away from the toe supportfor moving the additional support downwardly.

8. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support, a toe support, an additional support for the shoe betweenthe heel support and the toe support, means for adjusting said heelsupport toward and away from said toe support, and connections betweensaid heel support and said additional support for moving said additionalsupport in the same direction as that in which said heel support ismoved but at a lesser rate.

9. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support, a toe support, an additional support for the shoe betweenthe heel support and the toe support, means for adjusting said heelsupport toward and away from said toe support, connections between saidheel support and said additional support for moving said additionalsupport in the same direction as that in which said heel support ismoved but at a lesser rate, and mean operative during said movement ofthe additional support for adjusting the heightwise position of theadditional support.

10. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprisin aheel support, a toe support, an additional support for the shoe betweenthe heel support and the toe support, means for adjusting said heelsupport;

ditional support for adjusting the heightwise position of theadditionalsupport, and means for.

8.. additionally adjusting the heightwise position of the additionalsupport independently of said movement of the additional support.

11. In a shoe-pressing machine, means for supporting a shoe at the heelend and at the forepart for the application of pressure to the shoebottom, an additional support for the shoe between the heel end and theforepart movable to a position determined by the shoe by pressure of theshoe on said additional support, means for adjusting said supportingmeans to accommodate shoes of different sizes, means operated by saidadjusting means for adjusting the initial heightwise position of saidadditional support prior to its contact by the shoe in accordance withthe adjustment of said supporting means, and means for forcing saidadditional support more firmly against the shoe after it has been thuspositioned by the shoe.

12. In a shoe-pressing machine, means for supporting a shoe at the heelend and at the forepart for the application of pressure to the shoebottom, an additional support for the shoe between the heel end and theforepart movable to a position determined by the shoe by pres sure ofthe shoe on said additional support, means for adjusting said supportingmeans to accommodate shoes of different sizes, means for simultaneouslyadjusting the initial heightwise position of the additional supportprior to its contact by the shoe in accordance with the adjustment ofsaid supporting means and for adjusting the position of the additionalsupport lengthwise of the shoe relatively to said supporting means, andmeans for forcing said additional support more firmly against the shoeafter the support has been positioned by the shoe.

13. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support, a toe support, an additional support for the shoe betweenthe heel support and the toe support, a slide between said heel and toesupports movable vertically relatively thereto, means pivotally mountingsaid additional support on said slide for adjustment lengthwise of theshoe relatively to said heel and toe supports, means for adjusting saidheel support toward and away from said toe support, means connectingsaid heel support to said additional support to swing said supportrelatively to said slide thereby to move said additional support in thesame direction as that in which said heel support is moved but at alesser rate, and means operative during the swinging movement of saidadditional support for imparting vertical movement to said slide.

14. In a shoe-pressing machine, a jack for supporting a shoe for theapplication of pressure to the bottom thereof, said jack comprising aheel support, a toe support, an additional support for the shoe betweenthe heel support and the toe support, a slide between said heel and toesupports movable vertically relatively thereto, means pivotally mountingsaid additional support on said slide for adjustment lengthwise of theshoe relatively to said heel and toe supports, means for adjusting saidheel support toward and away from said toe support, means connectingsaid heel'support to said additional support to swing saidsupport'relatively to said slide thereby to move said additional supportin the same direction as that in which said heel support is moved but ata lesser rate, means operative during the swinging movement of saidadditional support for imparting vertical movementto said slide, andmeans for moving said slide upwardly to force the additional supportfirmly against the shoe after the shoe has been positioned on the jack.

ANDREW EPPLER, Ja.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,690,197 Headley Nov. 6, 19281,690,433 Ricks et al Nov. 6, 1928 2,104,739 Eppler et a1 Jan. 11, 1938

